Committed to kicking

Mehlhaff shares ups, downs at Boys and Girls Club event

Mehlhaff shares ups, downs at Boys and Girls Club event

February 11, 2009|BY DEB SMITH, dsmith@aberdeennews.com

BY DEB SMITH dsmith@aberdeennews.com Learning the difference between involvement and commitment carried Aberdeen native Taylor Mehlhaff from the practice field at Holgate Middle School to huge stadiums in the National Football League. Mehlhaff, who signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 31, addressed more than 400 people at the Aberdeen Boys and Girls Club annual fundraiser on Tuesday at the Ramada Inn and Convention Center. A former member of the local Boys and Girls Club, Mehlhaff delivered his first ever public motivational speech. An all-state player at Aberdeen Central, Mehlhaff received a full ride scholarship as a kicker to the University of Wisconsin, where he earned All-Big 10 honors. Mehlhaff noted that the head football coach at Wisconsin, Bret Bielema, talked about going beyond involvement. Bielema used a ham and egg breakfast as an example. “The chicken was involved in the breakfast by laying the eggs,” Mehlhaff recalled. “The pig laid his life down for the breakfast. He was committed.” The last year has been full of ups and downs for Mehlhaff, who was drafted in April in the sixth round by the New Orleans Saints but was cut in training camp. “It was an honor to get drafted. When the phone call came through from the Saints, it was awesome. It was a dream of mine to get drafted,” said Mehlhaff, who heard that the chances of a high school football player being drafted by the NFL was .08 percent. Mehlhaff also completed his degree at Wisconsin and returned to Madison briefly for graduation. Despite an injured upper leg muscle, Mehlhaff competed against veteran kicker Martin Gramatica during training camp with the Saints. “It was a heated battle,” Mehlhaff said. “I missed two more field goals than he did in training camp. I was inconsistent and it cost me.” New Orleans elected to stay with the more experienced kicker until Gramatica missed a key field goal in a Monday night loss to the Vikings. Mehlhaff was called back but the Saints also released their punter who doubled as Mehlhaff's holder on field goals and extra points. For awhile, the left-footed Mehlhaff was working with Ben Graham as his holder. Graham was eventually cut by the Saints and ended up punting for the Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl. After three games, Mehlhaff was released by the Saints on Oct. 28. “It knocked me down hard,” he said. “I knew I deserved to be in that league.” He immediately returned to practice and has been shuttling between Wisconsin and Aberdeen to work out. Then, the Vikings came calling and made him an offer. “Ryan Longwell (Vikings kicker) is one of the better kickers in the league but they are giving me an opportunity to do what I can with kickoffs. The bottom line is I have to go and perform,” said Mehlhaff who reports to the Vikings on April 6. Even if he does not make the Minnesota lineup, Mehlhaff still has an opportunity to catch the attention of one of the other teams in the league. “You're not only trying to impress the Minnesota Vikings but you're trying to impress 31 other NFL teams at the same time,” he said. “I'll probably get most of the kicking in the preseason because Longwell will save his legs. I'll be able to prove what I can do.”